Rio Grande Rivalry: New Mexico Dominates in Blowout Win

The New Mexico Lobos and New Mexico State Aggies met on the gridiron for the 104th time, in a rivalry dating back to before the state of New Mexico had even become part of the US. The Lobos won the rivalry game last season, but the Aggies won the previous three before that.

After this year's game, there is absolutely no doubt as to who the top program in the state is currently. New Mexico rushed for 541 yards en route to a 66-17 dismantling of the Aggies in Albuquerque.

Star running back Kasey Carrier rushed for 126 yards on just 14 carries for the Lobos, and had three rushing touchdowns before the first quarter was even over. QB Cole Gautsche led New Mexico on the ground, with 127 yards and a touchdown on a mere 12 carries, for an impressive 10.6 yards-per-carry average.

UNM was pretty much unstoppable on the ground, no matter who was toting the ball for them. 11 different Lobos registered carries in the game, with every single one of them averaging over five yards per carry. In all, Lobos ball-carriers combined for 541 yards and seven touchdowns rushing, while not committing a single fumble.

New Mexico was so dominant on the ground that they barely had to turn to their passing game at all. Gautsche attempted only four passes, completing two of them for 48 yards and a touchdown.

The Aggies actually weren't terrible offensively, racking up 451 total yards that included a 139-yard rushing performance by running back Brandon Betancourt. They did, however, have some issues with ball security. QB Andrew McDonald threw two interceptions, and NMSU also lost a fumble.

In the end, the Aggie turnovers combined with New Mexico's sheer dominance in the running game led to one of the more lopsided games in the history of the Rio Grande Rivalry, as New Mexico equaled its highest point total in the rivalry.

As Bob Davie continues to rebuild the Lobos after Mike Locksley's disastrous tenure in Albuquerque, he certainly earned a lot more goodwill amongst the UNM fanbase with this year's dismantling of their most hated rivals.